‘Make a Plan to Vote’ Says First Lady in First Rally Speech for Harris
Plus, new 'American FLOTUS' podcast debuts today and a first ladies children's book is set to be released in December.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden wrapped up two political events in Nevada Sunday where she urged attendees to vote by mail or in person when early voting begins as part of her five-state tour in election battlegrounds.
“Remember, in 2020, we won Nevada by just a little over 33,000 votes, and we're going to do it again,” Biden said from the National Automobile Museum in Reno where she spoke for about 15 minutes. “So make a plan to vote early or return your ballot today, Nevada."
Biden’s five-state campaigning tour kicked off Friday in Yuma, Arizona, where she spoke before about 350 people at the Yuma Arts Center. The tour marks the first time the first lady has returned to the campaign trail since her husband, President Joe Biden, dropped out of the race in July and the first time she has delivered a speech for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. This was the first lady’s fourth time visiting Arizona this year.
Biden's remarks focused on telling the crowd about Kamala Harris and what she will do as president. She attacked the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, several times by name. She also spoke on a personal level, noting she and Harris have talked about losing their mothers to cancer.
In the wake of the destructive hurricanes and catastrophic weather in the southeast, the first lady stressed the importance of a strong community regardless if it is a red state or blue state.
“None of us can survive this life on our own. Our communities give us strength when we need it most, and we've seen that these past two weeks, with so many people in North Carolina and Georgia and Florida dealing with the devastation of hurricanes or the extreme heat here in Arizona,” Biden said. “Like you, my heart has been broken by seeing so much pain, but I'm so proud of how our country comes together in times of tragedy, how Americans find ways to collect food and help their neighbors keep going no matter what they themselves have lost. We need leaders who can do the same–like my husband Joe and Kamala Harris."
The first lady, who also teaches at a community college outside of Washington, D.C., shared with the crowd about how she told her class she was going to have to miss some time because her sister, Jan, was having her first cancer treatment—a stem cell transplant—and would be in the hospital over six weeks.
“So I tried to explain that to my students with as much composure as I could muster. But, you know, the words caught in my throat, so I turned to the whiteboard, just trying harder to hold back my emotions, but when I turned back around the entire class was standing and they lined up to give me a hug,” Biden said. “They realized how much I was struggling.”
Biden also spoke to the crowd about what’s at stake in the election and women and their reproductive rights.
“When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade I was devastated. I see a lot of you shaking your heads,” she said. “No one has to abandon their faith or their deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling women what to do with their bodies.”
On Saturday, Biden spoke in Phoenix where she greeted the Harris-Walz campaign's Reproductive Freedom bus tour. Several Arizona Democratic politicians and a few celebrities were also in attendance.
Upon her arrival, Biden hugged Sen. Mark Kelly and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, Senate candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego, Governor Katie Hobbs and Rep. Linda Sanchez. Actors Bryan Cranston and Sophia Bush were also part of the tour.
Biden spoke to a crowd of about 400 people, focusing on reproductive rights and calling out Donald Trump several times by name.
“Today our daughters and granddaughters are living with fewer rights than we had,” the first lady said, noting after Roe was repealed, she was “shocked” and “devastated.” But in looking back, she said she shouldn't have been so surprised because “Donald Trump had hand-picked three justices to restrict reproductive freedom.”
She noted women of her generation remember what it was like pre-Roe. The first lady recounted a story she has told before about helping a friend recover from an abortion pre-Roe.
“Secrecy, shame, silence, danger, even death. That was the reality back then, and that's where Donald Trump has left women today—less safe and less free right now in America. Abortion bans are in effect in more than 20 states across our country,” Biden said. “The next president will likely choose new Supreme Court justices. Senators will decide whether to confirm them.”
She encouraged people to vote for Proposition 139, an amendment to the Arizona Constitution to add a fundamental right to an abortion.
Earlier on Saturday, the first lady kicked off an Educators for Harris-Walz event at the Arizona Education Association Hall also in Phoenix. About 125 people were in attendance including college students wearing blue “Educators for Kamala and Tim” T-shirts who were expected to canvas communities after the event. Early voting has started in Arizona.
“You know the first time I voted I almost didn't vote for my future husband. It's true. Can you imagine if I hadn't? I mean, thank God I did,” Biden said, recalling she was a student at the University of Delaware at the time and her parents were Republicans.
“Actually, Joe won that election by only 3,000 votes, so it could have easily gone the other way. So for most people, who are still making up their minds in this election, the people that you're going to go out today and talk to, politics likely isn't part of their daily lives. You know, they're so busy they don't pay attention, and they might not know how their vote could help determine their own future and the future of our country,” Biden said. “So let's remember that in 2020, we won Arizona by only 10,457 votes."
The first lady is expected to arrive in Michigan on Monday where she will attend political events in Detroit and Oakland County followed by traveling to Madison, Wisconsin, that evening.
Today! New Podcast ‘American FLOTUS’ Launches
The First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) and American POTUS, the popular podcast about the United States presidency, have launched a new joint podcast, American FLOTUS. The series will focus on U.S. first ladies, their impact, legacies and evolution of the role and office, the organizations announced Monday.
“It is fitting and exciting that at FLARE’s three-year anniversary, we are collaborating with American POTUS to introduce American FLOTUS,” said Nancy Kegan Smith, President of FLARE and Retired Director of the Presidential Materials Division, National Archives and Records Administration in a statement. “American POTUS is a leader in producing exceptional podcasts that enlighten its audience about the American presidency. American FLOTUS will demonstrate the important mark U.S. first ladies have made on the country and sometimes, the world.”
The first episode is available beginning Monday on all major podcast platforms or by visiting American FLOTUS or FLARE, and the transcript can be viewed here.
“The first ladies have played pivotal roles in the story of our nation since the very beginnings of the Republic,” said Alan Lowe, host and producer of American POTUS in a statement. “Given the commitment of American POTUS to examine the history of the presidency, discussing the role of these amazing women in partnership with the experts at FLARE is an exciting opportunity.”
The first episode, with the presidential election about three weeks away, will discuss the potential of a first, first gentleman.
Entitled “Envisioning the Role of a First Gentleman,” the first episode examines the ways in which the role of a future first gentleman could be approached. Lowe interviews Diana Carlin, Professor Emerita of Communication at Saint Louis University and FLARE Vice President, on the subject. Nancy Kegan Smith welcomes listeners to the new series.
Clues to how a first gentleman might define and perform his duties will be discussed using examples from the spouses of female state governors and foreign heads of state, and the experiences and observations of President Bill Clinton and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.
The discussion, Carlin told East Wing Magazine, was speculative and includes observations of the first female governor during the 1930s to more modern political spouses such as Cherie Booth, the spouse of Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
“She was a sitting judge. She didn’t have to go out and give speeches or entertain kids,” Carlin said of Booth. “That was not her job. That’s what the whole Royal family does.”
Listeners can expect to hear conjecture on what a future first gentleman role will model. What can you expect in the way of differences between past first ladies and a first, first gentleman? Carlin offers this two-word answer:
“Not much,” she said, adding that they are likely to follow the same patterns as first ladies.
“We anticipate [a first gentleman will] do what the first lady has done and that is work with and help support their partner,” said Lowe, who launched the American Potus podcast three years ago and who also served as director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
In the past, according to Smith, effective first ladies are the ones who have followed their passions.
“Probably an effective first gentleman, when that occurs, will follow the passions, the things he’s interested in,” Smith said, referring to Carlin and Lowe’s podcast discussion. Already, similar observations can be made about Emhoff’s time as the first second gentleman and his push against antisemitism.
The launch is another example of the power of collaboration, according to Anita McBride, executive-in-residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University’s School of Public Affairs where she leads the First Ladies Initiative.
“I am pleased that FLARE’s affiliation with the First Ladies Initiative at American University’s School of Public Affairs continues to provide opportunities to promote the stories and contributions of America’s first ladies and expand our reach to as many audiences as possible,” she said in a statement. McBride is the former chief of staff to former First Lady Laura Bush and one of the founders and a current board member of FLARE.
American FLOTUS episodes will be broadcast throughout the year and delve into timely topics, including the White House Historical Association’s new educational museum, the People’s House, that tells the story of the executive mansion and its inhabitants, a look at the lives and legacies of Edith Wilson and Pat Nixon, featuring authors Rebecca Roberts and Heath Hardage Lee, and other fascinating topics.
New Children’s Book to Show How ‘First Ladies Make History’
A new children’s book by a leading expert on the first ladies, Anita McBride, and her daughter, Giovanna McBride, First Ladies Make History was unveiled Thursday by The White House Historical Association, the publisher. The book, expected to go on sale Dec. 3, introduces young readers to the first ladies and takes them beyond the topics of hospitality and fashion often associated with them to highlight the important contributions they have made to society throughout American history.
First Ladies Make History presents the first ladies’ accomplishments through seven major themes: supporting members of the military and veterans, environmental conservation and historic preservation, diplomacy, education and literacy, civil and human rights, women’s rights, and health and wellness. John Hutton, a professor of art history at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, illustrated the book.
Young readers will also learn key terms associated with the work of first ladies including literacy, equality, diplomacy, veterans, environmental conservation, and abolition. The co-authors explain the many ways first ladies have pioneered change, including Abigail Adams who spoke out against slavery; Florence Harding who supported a change in the Constitution to give women the right to vote; Lucy Hayes who was an advocate for women’s education; Eleanor Roosevelt who championed human rights; Lady Bird Johnson who helped lead efforts to protect the environment and Barbara Bush’s passion for literacy that inspired her husband to sign the National Literacy Act.
The book shines a light on the many initiatives and projects the first ladies have launched to address problems and help Americans and people around the world, including Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program to address childhood obesity; and Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” initiative to educate young people about the dangers of substance abuse. With this book, young readers will learn about the accomplishments of past first ladies, and gain a better understanding of and appreciation for what the role entails.
First Ladies Make History is the ninth book in the popular children's series published by The White House Historical Association’s independent press.
Calendar
Oct. 15, 2024
Lafayette’s Bicentennial Celebration Tour – Next Stop: Tudor Place
The American Friends of Lafayette, in collaboration with Tudor Place and other historic sites nationwide, announce a bicentennial celebration of Lafayette’s tour tracing his footsteps as the “Guest of the Nation” in the exact order he traveled.
In 2024-2025, communities throughout the U.S. will commemorate the bicentennial of Marquis de Lafayette’s return to America. Between July 1824 and September 1825, “the Hero of Two Worlds” toured America, visiting all twenty-four states and the District of Columbia. Nearly 50 years after the American Revolution, Lafayette was received with parades, banquets and military salutes. In October 1824, he paid a visit to Martha and Thomas Peter at Tudor Place, a much-awaited reunion between Lafayette and Martha Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington.
Tudor Place will celebrate this bicentennial commemoration with a lineup of related events:
Oct. 15: Tudor Place at 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. ET The Night Lafayette Came to Tudor Place. Guests are invited to a celebratory evening in honor of one of Georgetown’s most historic events, which will include a performance by the United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps and a meet and greet with the guest of honor, Lafayette. View an installation of objects and ephemera around themes of Lafayette’s visit to Tudor Place in the historic house, followed by dinner and music on the South Lawn. Contact Tudor Place for tickets.
Oct. 15-Nov. 30: Tudor Place. Welcoming Lafayette. See rarely displayed collection objects and ephemera in the historic house around themes of memories and mementos of Lafayette’s visit to Tudor Place in 1824. Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET and Sunday Noon to 4 p.m. ET
Tudor Place preserves the stories of six generations of descendants of Martha Washington, and the enslaved and free people who lived and worked here for nearly two centuries. By examining their legacy, Tudor Place challenges itself and visitors to celebrate the triumphs and to confront the complexities of the past. Open Tuesday – Sunday for guided tours of the historic house and self-guided garden visits.
Oct. 17, 2024
Grand Rapids Champions Women's Rights: LVW, Betty Ford, and the ERA
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, presents Dr. Liette Gidlow of Wayne State University who will explore the development of the League of Women Voters in Grand Rapids and former First Lady Betty Ford's historic membership during the fight for the ERA. The event will take place from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. EDT on Oct. 17, 2024. Read more
Oct. 17, 2024
Third Thursdays Night Out Wine & Cheese with the First Ladies
The National First Ladies Library & Museum presents Third Thursday Night Out with the First Ladies on Thursday, Oct. 17, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. EDT. Enjoy appetizers and drinks and explore what First Ladies Abigail Fillmore, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Laura Bush all have in common—their teaching careers! Read more
Oct. 20, 2024
Eleanor Roosevelt: The First Lady of Today's First Ladies
Learn about the remarkable life of Eleanor Roosevelt, who served as the “eyes and ears” for President Roosevelt. Eleanor was the first lady from 1933 until 1945. Through her travels throughout the country, as an early advocate for human rights, and her public engagement, she redefined the role of First Lady. This remarkable person even served as the United States Delegate to the United Nations.
Presented by Mark Mutter, who spent summer months working as a docent at Campobello Island, where the Roosevelts had their summer cottage. During his time there Mark did extensive research on Eleanor Roosevelt.
Mark has been historian and business administrator for Toms River Township, serves as the official Toms River historian, and is currently adjunct professor of law at Ocean County College.
These events take place at 26 Hadley Avenue in Toms River. The speaker series is free; but donations are appreciated. Reserve a seat early by sending your name, zip code, email address, telephone number, and the name and date of the program (October 20, 2024) to: oceancountyhistory.programs@gmail.com
Oct. 24, 2024
An Evening with Jenna Bush Hager: Speaking of Books Author Series with the Stark Library
The National First Ladies Library & Museum is partnering with the Stark Library to bring Jenna Bush Hager to Canton, Ohio, through the “Speaking of Books Author Series.” The event will be held in person at 6:30 p.m. ET at the Canton Palace Theater. Co-host of TODAY with Hoda and Jenna, literacy advocate, and author, Hager discusses her work and books including Everything Beautiful in Its Time which pays homage to her beloved grandparents. Hager is the daughter of former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush. Before the public event, there will be an exclusive, private VIP reception at the National First Ladies Library & Museum (VIP Reception is by invitation and sponsorship only; please contact Patty Dowd Schmitz at pdschmitz@firstladies.org for information).
Oct. 27, 2024
Celebrate Eleanor Roosevelt’s 140th Birthday
Tickets are available now for “Letters from Eleanor: A 140th Birthday Celebration of Eleanor Roosevelt,” which will take place from noon to 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 27 at The Henry A. Wallace Center at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.
The event, presented by the Eleanor Roosevelt Center, will feature a sit-down lunch followed by a conversation among guest speakers William Harris,director of the FDR Library and Museum; Mary Jo Binker, associate editor, The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, The George Washington University; Ellie Lund Zartman, niece of Malvina “Tommy” Thompson and goddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt; and Anna Eleanor Fierst, Eleanor Roosevelt Board Chair and great-granddaughter of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Attendees will have a unique opportunity to view original letters from Mrs. Roosevelt’s, including heartfelt correspondence with her children and grandchildren.
Tickets are $125 per person. Read more
Submit calendar items, announcements and press releases to East Wing Magazine at jtaylor@eastwingmagazine.com.